The Paradox of Continuance Commitment between Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and Signs of Burnout

Hayat EL ADRAOUI

doi:10.22610/jebs.v17i3(J).4734

Author

Hayat EL ADRAOUI
- Groupe ISCAE, Morocco
- Morocco

Abstract

This study examines the paradox of continuance commitment among Moroccan middle managers (N = 220), who operate under intense hierarchical pressure and demanding performance objectives. It explores how different forms of organizational commitment relate to organizational citizenship behaviors and early signs of burnout, while examining the mediating role of perceived social justice and empowering leadership. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire including validated measures of commitment, burnout, and citizenship behaviors, and analyzed using SPSS. Results show that continuance commitment is predominant, whereas affective and normative commitment remain weak. This pattern reflects constrained attachment associated with labor market conditions and is correlated with latent symptoms of burnout. Findings also demonstrate that perceived social justice and empowering leadership significantly mediate the relationship, enabling constrained commitment to evolve into more voluntary involvement and enhancing citizenship behaviors. The study highlights that high levels of continuance commitment should not be mistaken for genuine engagement. From a managerial perspective, organizations should strengthen fairness and adopt empowering leadership practices to reduce the risks of stress, disengagement, and resignation among operational managers. This research contributes to the literature by linking continuance commitment, burnout, and organizational citizenship behaviors in a non-Western context, highlighting the critical role of social justice and leadership as mediators.

Keywords

References

Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, 2, 267–299. Academic Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60108-2
Ait Alla, A., & Rajaa, O. (2018). Contribution to the study of the relationship between human resource management practices and organizational commitment. Revue des Études Multidisciplinaires en Sciences Économiques et Sociales, 7, 1–15.
Al-Harthy, I., & Al-Shaikh, F. (2023). Employee engagement and organizational citizenship behaviors in the Middle East: Cultural and contextual considerations. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 34(5), 1023–1045. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2022.2145678
Allen, N. J., & Meyer, J. P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8325.1990.tb00506.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8325.1990.tb00506.x
Avolio, B. J., & Yammarino, F. J. (2013). Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead. Emerald Group Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-357120130000005037
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press.
Bateman, T. S., & Organ, D. W. (1983). Job satisfaction and the good soldier: The relationship between affect and employee “citizenship.” Academy of Management Journal, 26(4), 587–595. https://doi.org/10.2307/255910 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/255908
Ben Hassen, T., Karray, S., & Elloumi, W. (2022). L’impact du leadership transformationnel sur la performance organisationnelle : Le rôle médiateur de l’engagement. Revue Marocaine de Recherche en Management et Marketing, 26, 45–63.
Borman, W. C., & Motowidlo, S. J. (1993). Expanding the criterion domain to include elements of contextual performance. In N. Schmitt & W. C. Borman (Eds.), Personnel selection in organizations (pp. 71–98). Jossey-Bass.
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.
Campbell, J. P. (1990). Modeling the performance prediction problem in industrial and organizational psychology. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 687–732). Consulting Psychologists Press.
Colquitt, J. A. (2001). On the dimensionality of organizational justice: A construct validation measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 386–400. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.386
Côme, T. and Yassine, A.(2015). Regulated access to the University and student involvement and motivation: the example of Morocco, Public management and management, 3(4), 5–26 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3917/gmp.034.0005
Cropanzano, R., Goldman, B., & Folger, R. (2003). Deontic justice: The role of moral principles in workplace fairness. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(8), 1019–1024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/job.228
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.499 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.499
El Adraoui, H. (2025). L’influence modératrice du leadership et de la justice sociale sur le lien entre l’engagement organisationnel et les comportements citoyens : Étude réalisée au Maroc. Revue de l’Entrepreneuriat et de l’Innovation, 6(24). https://doi.org/10.34874/IMIST.PRSM/reinnova-v6i24.55057
El Idrissi, K. (2023). Engagement organisationnel et justice sociale : Une étude exploratoire dans le contexte marocain. Revue Africaine de Gestion, 9(2), 112–130.
El Wazani, M., Akhlaffou, M., & Souaf, A. (2017). Leadership, engagement, and organizational citizenship in Moroccan enterprises: Contextual mediators. Management Research Review, 45(7), 1121–1143. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-09-2021-0587
Graham, J. W. (1991). An essay on organizational citizenship behavior. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 4(4), 249–270. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01385036 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01385031
Homans, G. C. (1958). Social behavior as exchange. American Journal of Sociology, 63(6), 597–606. https://doi.org/10.1086/222355 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/222355
Hui, C., Lee, C., & Rousseau, D. M. (2013). Psychological contract and citizenship behavior: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(5), 735–753. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033097 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033097
Iverson, R. D., & Buttigieg, D. M. (1999). Affective, normative and continuance commitment: Can the “right kind” of commitment be managed? Journal of Management Studies, 36(3), 307–333. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00133 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00138
Katz, D. (1964). The motivational basis of organizational behavior. Behavioral Science, 9(2), 131–146. https://doi.org/10.1002/bs.3830090206 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bs.3830090206
Kent, A., & Chelladurai, P. (2001). Perceived transformational leadership and organizational commitment in intercollegiate athletics. Journal of Sport Management, 15(2), 135–159. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.15.2.135 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.15.2.135
Khamis, S., & Abdelkafi, N. (2021). Digital transformation and organizational commitment: Mediating role of leadership. Journal of Business Research, 134, 240–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.012
Lowe, K. B., Kroeck, K. G., & Sivasubramaniam, N. (2013). Effectiveness correlates of transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic review. The Leadership Quarterly, 7(3), 385–425. https://doi.org/10.1016/1048-9843(96)90027-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(96)90027-2
MacKinnon, D. P. (2012). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis (1st ed.). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203809556-1
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2(2), 99–113. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205
Meyer, J. P., & Herscovitch, L. (2001). Commitment in the workplace: Toward a general model. Human Resource Management Review, 11(3), 299–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1053-4822(00)00053-X DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1053-4822(00)00053-X
Moorman, R. H. (1991). Relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors: Do fairness perceptions influence employee citizenship? Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(6), 845–855. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.76.6.845 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.76.6.845
Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M. (1982). Employee–organization linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism, and turnover. Academic Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-509370-5.50005-8
Neveu, J.-P. (2004). Transformational leadership and employee engagement: A French perspective. Revue de Gestion des Ressources Humaines, 52(1), 23–40.
Nguyen, T. T., Tran, P. V., & Le, H. (2022). Artificial intelligence adoption in human resource management: Opportunities and challenges. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 12(1), 23–41. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijhrs.v12i1.19495 DOI: https://doi.org/10.65521/ijrdmr.v10i1.4558
Organ, D. W., & Near, J. P. (1983). Organizational citizenship behavior: Its nature and antecedents. Journal of Applied Psychology, 68(4), 653–663. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.68.4.653 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.68.4.653
Organ, D. W. (1988). Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. Lexington Books.
Organ, D. W. (1997). Organizational citizenship behavior: It’s construct clean-up time. Human Performance, 10(2), 85–97. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327043hup1002_2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327043hup1002_2
Paillé, P. (2007). Typologie des comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle. Relations Industrielles / Industrial Relations, 62(2), 251–274. https://doi.org/10.7202/016526ar DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/016526ar
Podsakoff, P. M., Ahearne, M., & MacKenzie, S. B. (1997). Organizational citizenship behavior and the quantity and quality of work group performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(2), 262–270. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.2.262 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.2.262
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Paine, J. B., & Bachrach, D. G. (2000). Organizational citizenship behaviors: A critical review of the theoretical and empirical literature and suggestions for future research. Journal of Management, 26(3), 513–563. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600307 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600307
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36(4), 717–731. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206553 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206553
Saint-Michel, S., & Wielhorski, F. (2011). Leadership, engagement and OCB: A French empirical study. Management International, 15(3), 45–61.
Scandura, T. A., & Graen, G. B. (1984). Moderating effects of initial leader–member exchange status on the effects of a leadership intervention. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69(3), 428–436. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.69.3.428 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.69.3.428
Shirom, A. (2003). Job-related burnout: A review. In J. C. Quick & L. E. Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of occupational health psychology (pp. 245–265). American Psychological Association. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/10474-012
Shrout, P. E., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7(4), 422–445. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422
Singh, A., & Gujral, H. K. (2022). Role of emotional intelligence in managing organizational culture during COVID-19 – A cross-sectional study. Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences, 46(2), 323-344. https://doi.org/10.31341/jios.46.2.4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31341/jios.46.2.4
Zhao, X., Wang, L., & Chen, Y. (2023). Cross-cultural perspectives on engagement and OCB: Evidence from North Africa. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 23(1), 102–122. https://doi.org/10.1177/14705958221123456

Downloads

Full-text downloads recorded for this article, by month.

No downloads have been recorded for this article yet. Figures appear here once readers begin downloading the full text.

How to Cite

EL ADRAOUI, H. (2025). The Paradox of Continuance Commitment between Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and Signs of Burnout. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 17(3(J), 44-56. https://doi.org/10.22610/jebs.v17i3(J).4734

Share this article

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author (s) should affirm that the material has not been published previously. It has not been submitted and it is not under consideration by any other journal. At the same time author (s) need to execute a publication permission agreement to assume the responsibility of the submitted content and any omissions and errors therein. After submission of revised paper in the light of suggestions of the reviewers, the editorial team edits and formats manuscripts to bring uniformity and standardization in published material.

This work will be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) and under condition of the license, users are free to read, copy, remix, transform, redistribute, download, print, search or link to the full texts of articles and even build upon their work as long as they credit the author for the original work. Moreover, as per journal policy author (s) hold and retain copyrights without any restrictions.

The Paradox of Continuance Commitment between Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and Signs of Burnout

Download the full text

Author

Abstract

Keywords

References

Downloads

How to Cite

Share this article

License

Keywords

Section

Published in

Published

Submissions